Gov. Cuomo enacts travel ban for all of Long Island

Thinking that you really need to get out of the house? Think about this: you might get fined, and charged with a crime, if you decide to take a drive.

After several layers of government announced a state of emergency earlier today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a travel ban this afternoon that affects all local and state roads south of Westchester County, making travel punishable by a misdemeanor and a $300 fine.

The ban, which went into effect at 2:30 p.m., is meant more to keep congested urban roads clear from drivers getting stranded on the road — which would then affect plows from clearing the streets, and thus affecting more drivers.

Forecasts of up to 30 inches have been predicted for New York City, which “would be one of the most serious amounts of snowfall we’ve had in decades,” said Gov. Cuomo.

“You can’t affect a banning of travel unless you do the entire area,” he said. “You can’t have people driving into New York City from New Jersey, you can’t have people driving into New York City from Nassau, so we coordinated a road ban, starting at the Port Authority, New York City, Nassau County and Suffolk.”

On closed roads, only authorized emergency vehicles will be permitted.

For road updates, New York State provides a travel advisory system that features real-time travel reports and road conditions, which can be accessed by dialing 511 or online at www.511ny.org.